Before moving to Chengdu, all my Chinese friends kept mentioning the word lamei. They asked, "Do you know there's a lot of lameis in that part of China? But were there really that many Latinos in southwestern China?
Or was it something else? With so many varying tones and idioms packed into this ancient language, I didn't know what to think. Whatever a lamei was, it made me curious, so I asked, " Lamei shenme yisi? Let's break down the Chinese characters individually.
By interpreting it literally, it's hard to come up with a definitive answer. But after analyzing the figurative side, we see that lamei is an interesting pun packed with culture, history and tradition. Lameis are women from the southwestern province of Sichuan. These two regions are famous at home and abroad for their spicy cuisine. With such a unique and thermometer-bursting flavor, it's only natural that the locals pride themselves on having a high spice tolerance and are delighted to eat blazing food every day of the week.
In case you haven't sampled it yet, I can most certainly vouch for Sichuan's kitchen. Coming from Louisiana a part of the United States renowned for its combustible Cajun cooking and Tabasco hot sauce I, like the natives of Sichuan, want my food to make me sweat. Although I consider my spice tolerance quite high, after taking my first bite of real Sichuan food, my taste buds needed a fire extinguisher. Eat Sichuan cuisine with caution β it's not for those with a weak pallet.
Since the women from this part of China eat so much peppery food, it's said that it actually pricks their personalities. With fire running through their veins, stereotypical lameis are said to be hot-tempered, not afraid to openly express their opinion in public with bold body language, spitting fire at souls senseless enough to provoke them. In some instances, especially with anxious men dropping clumsy pick-up-lines, your typical lamei may strike back with a vicious verbal assault.
